Home Recording

[Beatles]

Does anyone here have a home studio?

[GuitarsCanada]

I have done some recording at home. But setting up a studio can be challenging. All depends on what you are trying to do. Recording a 5 pc band is a lot different than recording yourself playing guitar over a backing track. There is a page on the site with a few minor pointers, not much but may help.

http://www.guitarscanada.com/Home_Recording.htm

[Beatles]

Thanks. Are there more pages with other artilcles that we can access?

[GuitarsCanada]

I dont think I have any links directly on my pages, but I ran accross a site one time that was devoted totally to home recording. Can't remember the name of it. Try a google search, I am sure they are still running

[Beatles]

Ahhhh. Now I get it :) Never realized that there was this link http://www.guitarscanada.com/about-us.htm

[GuitarsCanada]

Yes sir, check it all out.

[Beatles]

I have a studio. I was curious to know if anyone else had one. I'd like to share some thoughts/experieces with those who have recorded or would like to record.

[MusicMan_44]

I am only 17 years old. But because my dad works at CBC in Winnipeg (He manages the radio studios and builds them) he got me tons of free stuff. I got a recording program (Mixcraft) on my computer. I got a 4 track and a 16 track mixer in the room, along with 3 mics. I do not have a drum set, but I got a niec Yamaha Keyboard that spits out great sounds, effects and drums as well as a great piano. I've also got a 2.1 Stereo system set up in the room that really gets the instruments our clearly.

It's not a big studio or anything, but i can always record full songs in there, and if i get the energy to move drums around, I could fit a drum set in there and mic it up as well.

[imbackagain2]

Id like to see some pics of what you guys have.

[exhausted]

Does anyone here have a home studio?


mine is just suitable for recording myself. i set up a corner in the basement, put down carpet and hung blankets as walls (more for warmth than sound isolation) and jammed all my stuff in there.

it's not suitable for a band at all but for recording myself, it's fine. just a PC running protools LE with an mbox.

[Accept2]

Im suprised there are not way more posts on this subject. With the advent of cheap digital recording and using computers to lay down tracks its certainly become an option for anybody to get the recording gear now. My first recording unit was an old Teac tubed real to real 4 track. It was messy as hell, and was extremely expensive. Its sound quality wouldnt even be comparable to the cheapest units out today. I would like to get into the computer route now, as it seems to be the way to go. Currently Im using a digital recording unit which fits in my rack. Prior I had a digital console unit, but I find it better if the unit sits in a rack so its way from potential damage, or getting something spilled on it, or even having dust problems..............

[exhausted]

i started with a tascam 424 cassette four track, rack verb and comp and a 2-track cassette to mix down to. outgrew that pretty quickly and bought a used tascam 788 digital 8-track and a cd burner to mix to. then did final trimming/pseudomastering on a computer with basic soundforge. i used that for a few years and recorded a lot of songs but eventually outgrew it as well. i found trying to edit and produce a nice final product difficult.

that's when i just sucked it up, bought a fast computer and the protools LE kit. the quality i was able to attain improved 10x and the ease of editing/amount of tracks/ability to master (to a certain extent) is something i couldn't give up now. i mean, it's certainly a lot better than what i could do before and it's certainly good enough to produce sound files that a handful of people hear over the web anyway. i'm sure someone with more sound engineering skill could produce very high quality tracks with it.

and it's all just one little interface box and a computer. i have a mixer to handle all my inputs now but that's it. all other tools and effects live in the software realm and i'm very happy with it.

[Accept2]

Maybe you could give a break down of everything that is needed for recording on a computer, software and hardware. I am sure lots of players are out there thinking its really difficult (including me) but may be surprised to find it very easy..........

I imagine have a dedicated computer to just recording is the first step. Now you need to fill in the blanks as to what to get thats easy to use.........

[exhausted]

i'll do my best here. i'm not an expert by any means.

- a good computer because you're handling very large files and quite a few at a time,
- a good sound card (24bit, 48kHz or better sampling)
- some way to interface mics/instruments to that sound card. something with XLRs, phanton power etc. a little behringer mixer for example.

- then whatever you'd normally use for monitoring, be it headphones or powered speakers or whatever. the same as for any other set up.

i went with what i personally decided was the easiest route for me which was the digidesign mbox/protools LE kit and a powerful PC.

http://digidesign.com/products/mbox/basics/ (there is an mbox 2 now)

the box itself acts as the interface and the sound card and all inputs/outputs flow through it. it acts as a preamp/phantom power supply as well.

the software comes with everything you'd traditionally have in racks i guess. everything you'd need for a home studio anyway. comps, delay/verbs, noise gates, EQ, limiters etc. etc. and if you understand the basics of recording, you're up and running very quickly. i find the software very easy to use.

32 tracks available for playback at any time though you're limited to recording 2 at a time. there are more expensive interface units available to record more at once i believe but for solo work, two was good for me.

the computer boils down to a fast processor, lots of RAM and fast hard drives. i bought mine in fall 2004 with a 2.8ghz pentium 4, 1 gig of RAM and two SATA hard drives (one for the system and one dedicated to recording files). in the protools case, digidesign lays out the bare minimum required but i basically went for the best i could afford at the time. i spec'ed it out specifically from dell because i wanted to focus on the power and cut out extras but i'm sure there are suitable machines available off the shelf too. i just didn't need the typical extras for this machine.

i've since bumped it to 2 gig of RAM though i hit the limit of the processor long before the memory is an issue. the only time the computer starts to sweat is when i'm dealing with 25-32 tracks and lots of time-based effects. the processor is working pretty hard at that point. you get bus effects and route tracks through to make more efficient use of the system though too.

the second harddrive isn't strictly necessary but it's recommended so i went that way.

outside of what digidesign sells, there are umpteen different sound card/recording software options that i haven't looked into since i bought the system. it just seemed to me that the protools solution presented the fewest headaches in terms of hardware compatiblity and all that. i've never had an issue with this system apart from a couple of the usual windows things.

and my system isn't hooked up to the web so it's not getting bogged down with other software and crap that spell doom for most machines. it should hum along happily for a good long time without the need to upgrade software or hardware.

the only thing i added hardware wide was a little behringer mixer so that i can leave all my inputs hooked up and not be reefing on the jacks on the little mbox. not that they're not solid, it's just that i'd rather not wear them out.


there are probably cheaper options and things like apple with their macs and garageband etc. are very popular. i'm just focusing on the route i took.

[hoser]

I used to have a 16 track adat setup a few years ago and reorded bands with that...I ended up selling it all when I moved to a house that couldn't contain a large setup...if i want to record now its straight to my laptop.

[Accept2]

Does the Mbox also include a drum machine, or other fancy stuff?.................

[exhausted]

this is what currently comes bundled with protools LE.

Ableton Live Lite 4 Digidesign Edition
Propellerhead Software Reason Adapted 3
FXpansion BFD Lite
IK Multimedia SampleTank 2 SE
IK Multimedia Amplitube LE
IK Multimedia T-RackS EQ
Celemony Melodyne uno essential
Bunker 8 REX file CD

http://digidesign.com/products/bundle/


applications that can stand alone or be "plugged in" to protools. 2 or 3 of them have sampling/sequencing capabilties.

i use the EQ a lot and the amplitube once in a while. i use reason adapted a lot for soft synths but i have a seperate program called fruityloops that i bought for drum programming. i just found it easier to use.

i forgot in the last post that protools now works with a bunch of m-audio's interface equipment, freeing you up from digidesign's own hardware.

http://digidesign.com/products/mpowered/basics/index.cfm

i sound like a digidesign commercial, which i don't mean to, it's just the one i know the best but there are lots of other pieces of software out there too.

if you haven't seen this site, a good resource for information.
http://homerecording.com/digital.html

edit: actually it's kind of (really) outdated. never mind.

[exhausted]

Does the Mbox also include a drum machine, or other fancy stuff?.................


apparently, they have this now:

FXpansion BFD Lite
FXpansion BFD Lite puts a full drum studio right within the Pro Tools environment. BFD Lite includes three meticulously recorded drum kits along with additional individual samples — all produced in pristine fidelity with multiple velocity layers. Getting the sound of a mic'd drum kit in your sessions has never been so easy — or quiet.

that wasn't included at the time i bought mine (fall 04).

[imbackagain2]

Can you rip these programs online for free?

[Jaggery]

Very nice post by Exhausted.

How much does a bundle like Pro Tools LE + Mbox come to in CDN funds?

[Smurf42]

I started with a Panasonic 2 track 7" reel to reel, mixing down to a boom box. Things have really changed over the years! I created a thread on here called "Would you like a FREE 16 Track Studio? Then Read On!". It lists everything you need to set up a small recording studio for nothing. Tho I agree that one of the fine programs that have been mentioned will do better (I also use Cool Edit Pro 2.1) the setup I list works well, and would get people up and recording for now.

For a cool little program that has a ton of helpful hints, Studio Buddy (http://www.studiobuddy.com/) is great, and a free download. Another site, that has been mentioned above, has a ton of info from real people that are using the equipment. The main page, Home Recording (http://homerecording.com/bbs/) has 1000's of posts that should answer most questions you have about something.

Great thread by the way, keep it going!

[madog99]

great thread for me !!! I started out with a stereo cassette deck and a Radio shack mic . I bought a Fostex 280 4 track on ebay later on and had a ball with that using a SM58 and adding reverb on the PC. But I just sold it and bought an Akai digital studio used(DPS12). Now the sad part ...... I suck at it . I'm a somewhat "vintage " individual and I like knobs as opposed to menus so after a few hours playing with this thing it may be going back on the block .My poor old brain may not be able to grasp it. I have tried Krystal, audacity and soundplanet on my P3 but the PC can't handle them .I'll give the new unit a few more days and see if any of it can sink it.
cheers
John

[David St Hubbins]

It seems the farther we move along the more complicated the machines get. When you get some of these things the manuals are thicker than a dictionary. :eek:

[david henman]

...i started out with a philips two-track with sound on sound (HISS!!!) and eventually saved up enough for a tascam four-track reel-to-reel, which i used for about ten years. next came a tascam 244 four-track cassette portastudio - got ten years outa that, too (still have it). along came digital, and i grabbed a roland vs-840, used it for ten years, and still have it. recently i purchased a tascam 2488 24-track digital workstation w/built-in cd burner, although its really a 12-track with six additional stereo tracks. i'm using it to record a "home demo" cd with my band - we will have it finished by christmas.

a computer-based home studio holds no attraction for me, at this point. for one thing, i don't have a decent home computer. mainly, however, i just don't have the time to invest in learning how to use it.

in fact, most of the time my tascam 24-track sits covered. i still do most of my recording and composing with a simple stereo cassette deck and a cheap stereo mic.

-dh

[GuitarsCanada]

In the recording world it's always best to buy something that is going to suite your needs. I know a lot of people that have way too much for what they are trying to do. So many times a simple 4 track might do.

[Benee Wafers]

Like others I didn't want to invest the time learning the computer way of recording,being a bit of a computer klutz anyway. I copped a Tascam DPFX01 which is 8 tracks, a Line 6 POD for all the amp sounds I could possibly want and a Yamaha keyboard. Note on the keyboard I went cheap and I now highly recommend that you get a higher end keyboard which will give you much more realistic sounds.I've got an old Shure mic from the 1970'S which has travelled with me wherever I went. An external LG CD burner used with my computer.
All this is dedicated to creating pre production demos.I do all the basic tracks myself and give to vocalist,drummer and guitar players to learn from.You would do the same if you were hiring pros in a studio so they could understand quickly what you want, saving a lot of time and money.
End result though is to get into a pro studio ( a well eguipped Pro Tools environment ) for a relatively inexpensive hourly rate and get it done right.
If your shopping songs as a songwriter or a CD as a performing artist you really can't get past the need for an excellent sound.
Benee Wafers

[ShadowRiffer]

i've got the audacity recording program and a webcam/microphone that is too short to not be too close the the fan running in the computer tower. so there is always a hum in the back of my recordings. it sucks. but its better than nothing.

[hfisher3380]

I'm by no means an expert on these things but I'm getting pretty decent sounding recordings with a relatively simple setup. Imac with garageband and M-Audio Firewire solo. Acoustic guitar through Shure SM57, electric guitar through headphone out on my Boss DD20 or SM57 from amp, bass through XLR-out on my Fender amp, vocals direct in through Shure SM58, Yamaha electronic drum kit direct into stereo input of the Firewire solo. IMac/garageband is very user friendly - if I later choose to do things more pro quality then I can transfer my garageband files to Logic Pro or Logic Express. Files can be easily and painlessly exported to I-tunes and turned into MP3's. IMO computer-based system is the way to go for home recording.

[Rattlesnake]

Currently in the works is my new PC recording studio. THe last 3 years though, i've been using an old Yamaha integrated mixer in which I plugged in all of my instruments needed, from there I ran it into a Fostex 4 tracks, into a DJ mixer, then into my equalizer, and from there to my master tape deck, to my amp. I also had my CD changer going into my DJ mixer (the DJ mixer was the bridge to all my accessories going to my amp) in which allowed me to also play along to my cd's through the amp to my speakers. Ahhhh, enough said, time to put my PC to work!! :DevilGuitar: